This invention relates to interactive television program guides, and more particularly, to techniques for presenting advertising to users of such television program guides.
Cable, satellite, and broadcast television systems provide viewers with a large number of television channels. Viewers have traditionally consulted printed television program schedules to determine the programs being broadcast at a particular time. More recently, interactive electronic television program guides have been developed that allow television program information to be displayed on a viewer""s television.
Interactive program guides are typically implemented on set-top boxes. Such program guides allow users to view television program listings in different display formats. For example, a user may instruct the program guide to display a grid of program listings organized in a channel-ordered or a time-ordered list. Users may also search and sort program listings by theme (e.g., movies, sports, etc.) or by title (i.e, alphabetically). A user may obtain additional information for a program by placing a highlight region on a desired program listing and pressing an xe2x80x9cinfoxe2x80x9d key. The user may purchase a pay program from the program guide or may set a reminder for a future program by placing the highlight region on a program listing and pressing an xe2x80x9cOKxe2x80x9d key. Some systems allow the user to select a program for recording by placing the highlight region on a program listing and pressing a xe2x80x9crecordxe2x80x9d key.
Program guides with a browse or flip display are capable of generating an overlay containing program listings information for a single channel. Browse displays contain information on programs available on channels other than the channel to which the user is currently tuned. The user may browse through program listings for other channels and other times using cursor keys, without changing the current channel. Flip displays contain information for the current channel. When the flip display is activated, using the up or down channel keys causes the both the current channel to change and the flip display to be updated accordingly.
Although flip and browse displays are useful, it would be desirable if more information were available to the user of such displays. For example, it would be desirable if advertisements were available in flip and browse displays to provide the users of such displays with additional information.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an interactive television program guide system that provides advertising on flip and browse displays.
It is also an object of the invention to provide an interactive television program guide system with special effects for removing such flip and browse displays from the user""s television screen.
These and other objects of the invention are accomplished in accordance with the principles of the present invention by providing a system having an interactive television program guide that provides video (including audio) for the current channel and a program listings display region containing a program listing for a single channel and an advertisement. The program listings display region may be either a browse display in which the channel or time for the program listing may be different than the current channel or time or a flip display in which the channel for the program listing and the current channel are the same.
A browse display may be provided in which a user may change the channel for the program listing by navigating a highlight to an advertisement adjacent to the program listing with a cursor key and by activating that cursor key again after the advertisement has been highlighted.
The advertisement may be selectable. When the user selects the advertisement, the program guide may take an appropriate action. If the advertisement is related to programming, selecting the advertisement may direct the program guide to perform a programming related task such as setting a reminder for a program, tuning to a program, recording a program, ordering a pay-per-view program, etc. If the advertisement is a conventional advertisement, selecting the advertisement may direct the program guide to assist in the ordering of a product or service, to process an inquiry for additional information, to display additional information, etc.
Multiple advertisements may be provided within the program listings display region. Advertisements may contain text, graphics, and video.
The program listings display region may be removed by the program guide using a special effect such as a wipe, a dissolve, a fade, etc.
Further features of the invention, its nature and various advantages will be more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments.